First Scripts

Not many people know about how I started calligraphy. I will not go into too much detail, but it was in the summer of 2015 when I had watched some video online about some guy who was flexing his Pilot Falcon and Nakaya like it was his job. I was hooked, and procured a Faber Castell Ambition pen on the same day. I then started an Instagram account showing the pen and some random letters I wrote to nobody in particular.

Barely a week later, I stumbled across a global phenomenon: In(ternational)Co(rrespondence)Wri(ting)Mo(nth). I scoured the website for local participants, and found one Sarah Ko. I promptly wrote her a letter.

She replied, and I was shocked. My name and address was written in calligraphy. In fact, I believe the whole letter was written in calligraphy. THIS—I said to myself—I HAVE TO HAVE THIS.

I found out that what I had received was written in Copperplate, and after viewing more videos online, I made a purchase for an oblique pen holder and some nibs. The journey has continued up till to-day.

Why am I writing about my past, you ask?

At present, I specialise in the English roundhand. Did I make a deliberate decision that this would be the script I want to spend my whole life learning? No. I was sort of "tricked" into it, because it was the only script I knew back then when I was introduced calligraphy. And it was the only script I knew because of my interaction with the lovely Sarah Ko.

Therefore as people who practice and advocate calligraphy, we must be aware and mindful that our interactions with others have a deeper impact than we might imagine.

So when someone asks us what script they should learn first, we should be mindful that perhaps the script we recommend might have been the only script we were exposed to back when we just started learning calligraphy and not because the script is the most suitable for beginners.

Therefore, it is my opinion that we should recommend a script that has the most resources available for learning, and that these resources are suitable for beginners.

But that's only my opinion... go tell your followers to learn Insular Half-Uncial if you so wish. ;)